Tag Archives: Temples

Back this March we went to visit Grandma in Illinois. We flew into St. Louis. This was the second time we visited Grandma. The last time was back in 2010 (see post here).

Here is a picture of the famous arch. When we were driving around the arch I received the idea to create the WordPress Ward which is finally a reality. The WordPress Ward recently was awarded Honorable mention at the 2014 LDS Tech Conference! This motivated me to find my St. Louis pictures because I remember distinctly that right next to the Gateway arch is where I received the inspiration from the Holy Ghost to create the WordPress Ward.

The arch is a monument to Thomas Jefferson and the pioneers who went west during the Westward Expansion between 1830 and 1870.

The Mormon Pioneers were among the first people to trek across the terrain to find a place to safely practice religion because of persecution.

In 1847, Brigham Young lead the first group of pioneers to Utah where President Young declared that, “This is the right place”. Salt Lake City is now where the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The church membership is now 15 million and there are currently 141 operating temples.

This time when we were at the St. Louis Temple it was closed for cleaning but I decided to take pictures anyways! 🙂

I’m so grateful for the pioneers who suffered much to get to Salt Lake City! Their example and sacrifice is a blessing to us all. The church has been blessed because of the great faith of the Mormon Pioneers.

Someone made a really nice comment on my last St. George Temple picture post and I recently found this picture taken back in 2008. I re-edited it and I like it so much! So I thought I share it with you.

I took this picture with an Olympus Camera and Lens. I highly recommend Olympus SLRs for a good cheaper off-brand alternative to Canon/Nikon.

This is the Las Vegas Nevada Temple. We stopped here on the way to San Diego back in October.

My husband is really good at going to the temple every week. I’ve been trying to go every other week but it is really a lot harder to go to the temple with little kids. It has worked out though for the most part. I get the the temple about twice a month. Even though I don’t always get to go with Dallin to the temple, the sisters in our ward are always arranging trips together to the temple. It’s nice to get away to have some “girls time” too. This allows me to be able to get to know different sisters in our ward better by going to the temple with them.

I also notice that even though I can’t go to the temple as often, there is still an increased measure of the Spirit at home. Why? I think it’s because little babies bring with them a special spirit. Also, I think it’s because my husband has been so faithful in attending the temple. I also believe that new moms can be blessed to have the “spirit of the temple” at home through prayer, scripture study, and uplifting music.

I heard once that a mom would take 2 hours of her week to have “temple time” even though she couldn’t physically get the the temple because of distance and time. During that time she would study about the temple.

How do you find time to go to the temple? (Especially if you have little kids…)

Random Photography Ramble: Why do I like to do this star burst effect? Because it was about noon day when we arrived at the temple and there was no clouds in the sky. I usually like to take pictures during sunrise or sunset with clouds to help defuse the light. Lunch time really isn’t the best time for lighting so I think the light “burst” adds to the picture instead of just having a plan blue sky. You can learn how to do the star effect here.

My husband had to go to San Diego, California recently for a conference trip. He never likes leaving the family at home so we all went with him. While we were planning the trip, the question came up: “Should we go to Disneyland?” We went back and forth on the decision but we finally decided that we didn’t want to take our kids to Disneyland yet because they are too young (2 years, 3 months). We had planned on driving from Salt Lake City to San Diego; so as an alternative to Disneyland, we decided to stop at every temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) along the way.

Micah, our two year old, loved our temple trip! He said “TEMPLE! TEMPLE!” every time we arrived at one. Traveling with kids can be very stressful, especially when they get restless and start crying. Stopping at the temples was the perfect rest stop because we could feel the Spirit instantly as we stepped foot on the temple grounds. When we got to the temples, we strolled around and took pictures of each temple.

I decided I’m going to blog about the San Diego La Jolla Temple first because it is by far the most unique temple I have ever been too and I’ve been to quite a few. As you drive south towards downtown San Diego on the freeway I-5, you suddenly see this magnificent castle on the left hand side of the road. This temple gets random visitors, who get off the freeway, just to see what kind of building it is. I love all temples but the San Diego temple is exceptionally beautiful! We heard multiple times on the trip that the San Diego temple is nicknamed “Mormon Disneyland.” Even customer reviews on Google say stuff like “I’m not Mormon, but it’s a spectacular view from the freeway, reminds me of Disneyland.”

Now you’re probably thinking “Holy cow! That’s a lot of work!” Getting married in a LDS Temple is worth all the sacrifice because marriages in the temple are sealed up for time and all eternity and not just “till death due us part.” These temples are literally “the happiest place[s] on earth.” But not only that, Temples are where we can go to learn more about God’s plan for us. Members of the LDS Church, whether single or married, starting at the age of 12, can attend and re-attend the temples regularly to pray and learn more about the Plan of Happiness. If you’re already married, you and your current spouse can prepare yourselves to go to the temple to get sealed. We don’t have to be perfect people to attend the temple but constantly attending the temple will help us become perfect.

I can’t express in words how happy, wonderful and peaceful I feel to be inside a temple. It doesn’t matter how many problems I have that day, if I can make it to the temple, I will feel peace. My problems don’t go away but I receive strength and comfort from God when I attend the temple. I can also more easily gather my thoughts when I’m at the temple, especially when I am confused about something in my life.

I invite everyone to attend or prepare themselves to attend the temple so you can witness for yourself the peace and serenity of being inside the House of the Lord. I invite you to the temple to receive eternal blessings of salvation and eternal families. I invite you to visit one of our temples even if you can’t go in. They are spectacular and you may even be greeted with a free tour guide. Some of the LDS Temples have visitor centers where you can learn more about what we do inside a temple. To find you local temple please visit the LDS Temple website.

LDS Temples by May Bo Hubbard

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